First time in Europe
 

Hi! I am a 28 years old boy from Argentina and I am travelling to Europe for the first time on May. My general plan is to visit (with my girlfriend) Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona in 20 days. I'm starting my trip in Paris, and the ticket's return city is quite flexible.
How much should I expect to spend? (not counting the plane to get to Europe, of course) Should I buy an Eurailpass (I've found something called Eurail Select pass for 3 countries, wich seems ok) or it will be better to travel by air with Easyjet or something similar? (I'm looking for the cheaper option, don't care the conditions).
Do you think there is some city in the middle wich I should not miss?
Any tips are welcome...

Thank you very much.
Sergio.

We are both 24 and went to Europe for the first time in Sept '04 for 21 days
Amsterdam, Paris, Salzburg, Innsbrook,
Zurich, Hamburg, plus 1 little town in the black forest. Driving! without airfare we spent about $7,000.00 total!
We were on a tight budget and could have spent easy $1,500.00 more. Airfare was $1,560.00

Oops! Were were also in Munich for Oktoberfest!

Exactly how much you spend will be up to you. If you are comfortable in hostels you can save a lot - but I believe some may not let you and your girlfriend share a room. for modest hotels you would need to spend about $100 per night.

Food can be very inexpensive if you are willing to do lots of picnics rather than restaurants. Also - there are very inexpensive, ethnic local places in all of these cities.

I would not do any sort of train pass if you are just visiting a few cities. Look into the costs of either discount airlines or basic point to point train tickets.

to get a realistic amount for spending I would do line-item budget - including hotels, transport into and around cities, food and sights (some museums etc are free - but many are quite expensive). Also - a little walking around money - an ice cream, a drink at a cafe etc.

If you are planning on ANY nightlife - other than romantic walks - you will need to up your budget considerably - since clubs and drinks are typically quite expensive in europe.

If you check out thorntree.com it may provide other tips for budgeting.

Hi sergio,

Enter your itinerary at www.railsaver.com to see if a railpass will help you. Be sure to click "only if it saves e money".

The Thorntree Forum is very good for travelers on a tight budget. Go to www.lonelyplanet.com and click on Thorntree.
You can buy all of your train tickets at http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/ up to 60 days in advance.

You will get discounted fares if you buy early. For example, you can go from Paris to Barcelona on a discount fare in 1cl for less than 2cl regular 230E vs 258E for 2cl.

A double compartment with shower will be 458E. If you go in a 2cl T4 berth (you will have to split up) it will be 258E for the two of you.

Discount airlines are at www.whichbudget.com.

You can fly Paris Orly to Barcelona for about 55E each - about the same for Amsterdam to Barcelona.

Have a nice trip.

((I))